2008 WFA/Baldrige Criteria Seminar
Does your organization want a proven process for reaching the next level of performance? Learn to identify critical factors for organizational success and the importance of aligning work and resources to achieve desired results used the WFA/Baldrige framework. This session with national expert Dr. Mark Blazey offers an intensive study of this systematic approach to organizational improvement and the Criteria for Performance Excellence, to receive a major revision in 2007.
This interactive two-day seminar is directed toward directors, managers and other leaders who can make the most impact in setting the next steps in motion for reaching the next level of success at your organization. It is geared for both newcomers and intermediate practitioners of performance excellence. As with many other WFA workshops, organizational teams will gain maximum benefit and receive discounts for multiple attendance.
Our next seminar will take place on January 17 and 18, 2008 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Click here to download a flyer and registration form. Contact the WFA office to schedule a customized workshop or for more information at (608) 663-5300 or info@forwardaward.org.
Robin Lawton Returns to Wisconsin
Robin Lawton of International Management Technologies, the facilitator of two popular seminars in July, returns to Wisconsin for three seminars on excellence, measurement, and innovation. All seminars take place at The Management Resource Association (MRA) in Waukesha. Clicking on the name of any workshop below will direct you to a full description and registration materials on the International Management Technologies website.
Be sure to sign up by November 13 for significant Early Bird savings on already great prices.
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8 Dimensions of Excellence (8D) – 8 to 5 Tuesday, December 4, 2007
How would you feel to discover your car engine was only running on one or two of its eight cylinders? Whether your “car” is an organization or a key project, you wouldn’t knowingly continue to drive it that way. This course will enlighten, inspire and equip you to get all eight cylinders working together like you never thought possible.Come join us for three entertaining, provocative and content-rich workshops with national best-in class speaker, Robin Lawton, and pread the word so others can be on the same wavelength as you.
Is your transformation initiative a success when processes are improved, costs are cut and performance is measured in ways customers don’t care about? Hardly, but the mirage is tempting. Change initiatives often promote customer success as a priority but put all the attention on improving process. That only improves performance on one of the 8 Dimensions. Come learn, by yourself or with a team, about the other seven.
You’ll receive a complimentary autographed copy of Mr. Lawton’s best-selling book (5-star rated on Amazon and Google), Creating a Customer-Centered Culture: Leadership in Quality, Innovation and Speed. You absolutely must attend this session before you even think about taking another step toward the following:
- Developing a balanced scorecard or strategic plan
- Conducting Voice-of-the-Customer or Six Sigma projects
- Designing a customer survey
- Strengthening performance on Baldrige-based criteria
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Measuring the Seemingly Immeasurable – 8 to 5 Wednesday, December 5, 2007
(8 Dimensions of Excellence is a prerequisite for this workshop)
If you get excited by calculating the velocity of a projectile with a known mass when a specific foot-pound of force is applied for seventeen minutes, this session is not for you. You are already a rocket scientist. For those of us mere mortals who simply want to use measures to connect enterprise performance, customer success and knowledge work, this workshop is perfect.
As a change leader charged with the development and deployment of performance measurement systems, balanced scorecards, satisfaction surveys or new product/service design, you will appreciate the humor and practical application that make an otherwise dry and technical topic fun and personally relevant. Common challenges this session will help you address:
- Strategic objectives look more like milestones or glorified to-do’s than measures of success
- Employees don’t understand or can’t personally relate their daily work to enterprise strategy
- Balanced scorecards omit the most important customer priorities
- Performance measurement invokes thoughts of boredom, depression, torture or escape
- Squishy customer perceptions appear to defy translation into objective, unambiguous measures
- The most expensive knowledge work is poorly measured (if at all)
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MOUSETRAPS versus iTUNES: Keys to Customer-Centered Innovation – 8 to 5 Thursday, December 6, 2007
(8 Dimensions of Excellence is recommended, but not required, before attending this workshop)
Does the evidence support the claim that a better mousetrap will cause the world to beat a path to your door? The short answer is no. The leader for 100 years has remained dominant; despite the fact mousetraps are the most invented American product of all time. Consider all the effort wasted by innovative would-be leaders. This session is for change leaders interested in the intentional pursuit of innovative excellence customers will rave about, competitors cry about.
Many successful inventions and innovations arrive through serendipity: the happy coincidence of an accident turned into something new and wonderful. If this is your leadership or growth strategy, don’t hold your breath for success. Innovation failures are often technical marvels only another producer would love.
It is possible to achieve purposeful innovations that meet the “WOW” test? Attend this humorous, interactive and high-energy workshop and expect to be simultaneously challenged and entertained while you discover answers to the following questions:
- How do you design for WOW, as experienced by customers? These are the innovations we are most familiar with and we wish were ours.
- What easy-to-execute method always uncovers the mind of the customer, even when they couldn’t otherwise tell you? We may hear exactly what they said but still be deaf, dumb and blind to what was in their mind. Customers often give us answers to just what we’ve asked, even when they are the wrong questions.
- How do you encourage divergent thinking focused on outcome excellence versus convergent thinking about process and product improvement? Technically superior innovation is often something only another producer would love.
These sessions have been sold out in other cities so we recommend your immediate action. Together, they’ll provide you with a refreshing new way to achieve dramatic improvement your customers and competitors will notice. Examples from government, healthcare and such recognizable firms as Starbucks, Amazon.com, Southwest Airlines, Honda, Motorola and Google illustrate the growth potential possible by using the easy-to-understand but rigorous methodology described in these sessions.
Attendees at our July seminars were impressed with Mr. Lawton's dynamic presentation style and his nuanced approach to defining customers and their needs.We recommend coming with a team of three or more to maximize your take-away learning. For registration, please go to http://www.imtc3.com/events/UpcomingEvents.cfm. For personalized answers on these stimulating, fast-paced and pragmatic sessions, please call Mr. Lawton’s office at (800) 729-1468.
For more information on these sessions, visit IMT's calendar of events or call Wisconsin Forward Award at (608) 663-5300.
Application Writing Workshops
First presented in the fall of 2003 this highly-rated workshop is facilitated by Jane Rada, retired AQIP coordinator from Western Wisconsin Technical College and senior Baldrige Examiner. This interactive, day-long workshop will help your organization develop a foundation for future planning and improvement efforts based on the Criteria for Performance Excellence. You’ll gain practical expertise and learn strategies to effectively write a first-time or repeat WFA or Baldrige application.
Workshop benefits and outcomes include:
– Review of current Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence
– Identify and address linkage and alignment components of the Criteria
– Learn to write effective responses to the Results Items
– Create charts and graphs that accurately reflect data
– Identify appropriate application writing team members
– Gain insight and learn best practices from facilitators and fellow participants
Teams of three to five people from the same organization are encouraged for maximum benefit and learning. Individual attendees will also benefit from working with other individuals as teams to optimize their experience at this interactive, fast-paced session. Discounts are given for multiple attendance from an organization.
Please call the WFA office at (608) 663-5300 for more information or to schedule a customized workshop for your organization.
Baldrige Preparation Workshop: The Path to Organizational Excellence
This workshop features hands-on experience in assessing your organization and setting improvement goals. You’ll learn to build a solid foundation for systematic improvement using a Baldrige-based self-assessment tool designed for organizations beginning their performance excellence journey. With guidance from our expert facilitators, you will start the self-assessment process and begin developing an action plan for your organization. Teams of two to five are suggested to attend this one-day workshop to gain the best value. Please call the WFA office at (608) 663-5300 to schedule a customized workshop for your organization.
The Forward Continuum to Performance
Excellence
Are you wondering where to start? The Forward Continuum to
Performance Excellence can help answer your questions about
how learning activities can work together to help your organization
be the best it can be.
Click here to view the
matrix.
Speakers Bureau
Please call Wisconsin Forward Award to arrange a speaker
for your organization - (608) 663-5300.
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